How far can we humans go in destroying our own home? How far is too far? We are sharing the world with numerous plants and animals, and we still act as if we are entitled to this planet.

A lot of our devastating practices leave severe consequences on the environment, but when it comes to animals and their extinction, we can be considered murderers.

This time, two subspecies of giraffes have been added to the list of endangered animals, as they are under the threat of extinction, mainly because we have destroyed their habitat.

According to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), their number has reduced by up to 40% over the last three decades.

Therefore, the subspecies were moved from “Least Concern” to “Vulnerable” now, which is“The Red List” of Threatened Species.

Two specific subspecies of giraffes, the Kordofan and Nubian, were reclassified as ‘Critically Endangered’, with populations dwindling quickest in wild areas of Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Eritrea, Guinea, Malawi, Mauritania, and Senegal.

Moreover, the reticulated giraffe, native to the Horn of Africa, is listed as “endangered.”

All nine giraffe species have suffered great losses due to construction, mining, agriculture, and poaching across Africa, and seven of them are struggling to increase their numbers.

They are often hunted for meat in the African countries where they are still found.

As the species becomes more rare, illegal hunting has become more lucrative. Also, the Rothschild’s Giraffe Project in 2010 revealed that “freshly severed heads and giraffe bones” can net poachers up to $140 each.

Over the past decade, more than 21,400 bone carvings, 3,000 skin pieces, and 3,700 hunting trophies were imported into the United States.

Dr. Julian Fennessy, the co-chair of the IUCN Special Survival Commission, explains:

“Whilst giraffes are commonly seen on safari, in the media, and in zoos, people, including conservationists, are unaware that these majestic animals are undergoing a silent extinction. 

While giraffe populations in southern Africa are doing just fine, the world’s tallest animal is under severe pressure in some of its core ranges across East, Central and West Africa.

 It may come as a shock that three of the currently recognized nine subspecies are now considered ‘Critically Endangered’ or ‘Endangered’, but we have been sounding the alarm for a few years now.”

Stop the world, I want to get off.

Sources:
thisblowsmymind.com
www.irishpost.com
apnews.com
www.businessinsider.com